VirtualBox without any possible networking

[jthompson]

Hi all

 

Is it possible to install VirtualBox such that it has no networking capability at all? I'm working on setting up a VM for students to use for Python coding, and don't want the VM to have any networking available. I've read up a bit and played around, and whilst I can configure a VM with an immutable disk and no NICs and lock down the experience to some degree, I want to be positive that users won't be able to somehow reenable the NICs, or bring in their own VM (vbox file) and run that with networking enabled. Some of the students we have will work hard to run what they want on the network, so obscurity is not going to be enough.

 

I basically want to either remove or break VirtualBox's networking capability (i.e. for ANY VMs that may be running on it). I can't find a way to do that. Opting out of the networking components during installation doesn't seem to make any difference - I can still set up NICs for VMs.

[BKGarry]

We just installed python on windows, it actually cooperates with all the Security GPOs you have in place already quite well, so they cannot get to anything they don't have access to under their user areas.

[jthompson]

A number of students are sharing some pretty complex stuff, which either one or none of them wrote originally: encrypted chat things and lots and lots of prank scripts. I need it off our network and into a networkless sandbox so that I don't have to police it, worry about it, etc. We currently have Python deployed to the machines they do their coding on, but I want to remove it and go down the VM route.

[mavhc]

AFAIK you need admin rights to install a network device, so it should be fine.

[jthompson]

AFAIK you need admin rights to install a network device, so it should be fine.

 

But all the end user needs to do is adjust some options within the VirtualBox management GUI, they don't seem to need to install anything. That's why I want to remove networking completely from VirtualBox, so that we're not relying on VM-specific settings.

[synaesthesia]

Go through this thread: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/how-do-you-do/95325-virtualbox-image-programming-classes.html

Easy to set up config so they can't actually get to the virtualbox config, removes all networking possibilities as a result and still leave you with a shared connection to the students home folder if you so wished.

[jthompson]

Go through this thread: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/how-do-you-do/95325-virtualbox-image-programming-classes.html

Easy to set up config so they can't actually get to the virtualbox config, removes all networking possibilities as a result and still leave you with a shared connection to the students home folder if you so wished.

 

Thanks. I had read through that but after reading through again I got a couple of pointers which I think should get me sorted.

 

I'm going to set up the student's VirtualBox settings using the xml file and putting that into the mandatory profile (rather than running a script at logon). I'd missed the following setting, which cleanly prevents them opening the VM manager window, which should also prevent them running their own VM.

 

VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/Customizations noSelector

 

The vbox file we provide will get its permissions tightened to prevent students updating it with new settings, as will the vboxmanage utility.